Obama seeks swift passage of U.S. fiscal package

By David Alexander and Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama went to the U.S. Capitol on Monday to press for swift passage of a huge spending and tax-cut package amid signs his centrepiece economic stimulus plan may face delays.

"The reason we're here today is because the people's business can't wait," Obama, who takes office on January 20, told reporters at a start of a meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

"We've got an extraordinary economic challenge ahead of us," Obama said. "We're expecting a sobering job report at the end of the week."

The current U.S. recession began in December 2007 and, according to a Reuters poll, economists are expecting Labour Department data on Friday to show payroll jobs dropping by 500,000, bringing job losses for 2008 to about 2.5 million.

Obama's first visit to the Capitol since the November 4 election came on the eve of the opening of the new Congress where passage of a recession-fighting stimulus package, expected to cost about $775 billion (530 billion pounds) over two years, will be the top initial objective.

Obama's fellow Democrats had hoped to have such a package ready for the new president to sign as soon as he takes office in two weeks.

But they now say it will take at least a month or so longer to put together an initiative that can draw bipartisan support to clear a possible Senate Republican roadblock.

Republicans -- who have voiced objections to government moves to bail out the financial industry and U.S. automakers -- are raising concerns the Obama stimulus plan may presage a new era of uncontrolled government spending.